Currently, there are two basic types of tampons used for feminine hygiene. The first type is a digitally insertable tampon which is designed to be inserted directly by the user's fingers. The second type is an applicator style tampon which is designed to be inserted with the aid of an applicator. Both types are usually made by folding or rolling a loosely associated rectangular strip of absorbent material into a blank and then compressing the blank into a cylindrically shaped product known as a pledget. The pledget may or may not have a cover, depending upon the manufacturer. In both types, a withdrawal string is attached to the pledget before the tampon is wrapped and packaged for sale. In the applicator style tampon, the tampons are assembled into an applicator prior to being wrapped and packaged.
Up until now, tampons have been normally manufactured in either an in-line process or in an intermittent indexing type operation. Some representative methods of forming tampons and the apparatuses associated with these methods are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,816,100; 4,624,668; 4,642,108; and German Patent No. DE 3,347,649.
Most current processes operate at speeds which are considered slow by today's standards. With the increase in labor costs and competition, it is necessary for manufacturers to be able to significantly increase the speed at which tampons can be made. It is also beneficial if manufacturers can utilize a major portion of their existing machinery while increasing the process speed.
Since most tampon manufactures have not even considered cutting an elongated pledget into two or more single length pledgets, there is very little prior art. However, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,164 a method is disclosed for forming hollow applicator tubes by cutting the tubes in half. An applicator tube is different from a tampon in that it is usually constructed of thick paper or plastic, is not designed to remain in a woman's vagina, and does not contain a fibrous core. Two other patents which relate to slicing an article in half include U.S. Pat. No. 271,625 and Canadian Patent No. 614,475. In both of these patents, only the outer cover of a tampon is sliced in half while the fibrous core is left uncut.
German Patent No. 3,347,649, cited above, teaches a tampon wherein the cover strip is narrower than the width of the absorbent. This patent also shows, in FIG. 6, a tampon wherein the insertion end is uncovered by the cover strip while the retrieval end has the cover strip positioned tangent to it.
Now an apparatus and a method have been developed which can produce unique tampons quickly, efficiently and at a cheaper cost.